Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee was sworn as Chief Minister of West Bengal at 10.45 am today for the third consecutive time. Following the oath-taking ceremony, CM Mamata Banerjee held a press conference today, where she issued some guidelines to stabilize the current COVID situation.
While addressing her first meeting as the CM of West Bengal for the third time, she said that the COVID will be her priority as of now. CM Banerjee has made it mandatory for everyone to wear masks.
Some of the directives are as follows:
All markets, retailers and standalone shops will now function only from 7 am to 10 am in the morning and from 5 pm to 7 pm in the evening.
State government offices will now function with only 50 per cent attendance. For private offices, work from home has been mandated for 50 per cent of the staff.
Shopping complexes, gyms, cinema halls, beauty parlours etc have also been ordered to shut down until further notice. Banks have been allowed to operate from 10 am to 2 pm while jewellery shops can remain open from 12 pm to 3 pm.
Home delivery of food will be encouraged by the authorities, the CM further added.
Social and political gatherings have been prohibited. However, with permission from the authority, a maximum of 50 people can take part in a function.
All local trains will be suspended from Thursday. All the state government transport will function with 50 percent of the full capacity.
From 07th May, it mandatory for air travellers to carry RT-PCR negative reports. Those who will be positive, they will be sent to 14-day quarantine, arranged by airport authority with the state government.
Random checking will be done in inter-state buses. RT-PCR negative report not older than 72 hours is mandatory for such passengers. The ruling is also applicable to the passengers of train services.
Hawkers, transporters and journalists will be given priority as far as administering the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is concerned.
IPS officer Virendra has been appointed as Bengal DGP and Jawed Shamim reinstated as ADG Law and Order.
Furthermore, the CM wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought free-of-cost COVID-19 vaccines for all. In the letter, she also urged the PM to ensure adequate availability of essential drugs such as Remdesivir amid rising demand.
Speaking on the ongoing unrest in the state soon after the announcement of the assembly election results, Mamata Banerjee alleged Bhartiya Janta Party for circulating fake violent incidents. She appealed to all the political parties to preserve peace in the state.